Legends of Soccer at the Union

 

        Great night at the Philadelphia Union Foundation's "Legends of Soccer" benefit at the elegant Wanamaker's Crystal Tea Room in Center City.  I was fortunate to be invited by my friend, Jim Stavros, whose partner is on the Foundation's Board and whose firm sponsored a table.

        Got to see my former player, Carli (Lloyd) Hollins, who was honored along with Mayor Jim Kenney and Bimbo Bakeries USA president Fred Penny.  That along with good food and a lot of good soccer talk made it a fun evening.

        The Union's website has a story and a photo of the party.  It was obviously a big success, raising more than $250,000.

A Different Kind of Hat Trick

 New Zealand's Meikayla Moore had a worse day than you did Sunday.  In a She Believes Cup match in Frisco, Texas, Moore, a veteran with 50 caps, scored the first three goals of the match - for the United States.  The U.S. went on to score two more goals to wrap up the 5-0 win.

Watch the hat trick here.

U.S. Women Finally Achieve Equality

 After some six years of litigation, the current and former United States Women's National Team players agreed to a settlement with U.S. Soccer that will pay about $24 million to compensate for underpayment compared to the men's team.  The agreement is subject to ratification of an agreement between the women's player's union and U.S. Soccer.  

Andrew Das reports on the settlement in the New York Times.

The Passing of a "Great Soccer Dad": R.I.P. George Sierra

 

I was terribly saddened this morning to learn of the passing of George Sierra, father of Medford Strikers Xtreme (MSX) player Linda Sierra Wall and her brother Andrew, and wife of Bettie.  

Linda was an outstanding player on the MSX and Cherokee High School and then for Rowan University and was also one of the nicest girls a coach could have on a team, not to mention one of the hardest working.   I do not know their son but am guessing he is just the same.

George and Bettie were the ultimate team parents, supportive of the coaches and the entire team.  George was often the club linesman on our side of the field.

During and after the MSX years Debbie and I stayed in touch with George and Bettie and would occasionally meet for dinner.  The photo below was taken at our house January 1, 2012.  For several years I would see George on a regular basis at the Virtua Health Center in Moorestown, but had not seen him since that closed just before the pandemic.

Former MSX player Brenna (Rubino) Henry nailed it when she commented on Facebook that George was "a great soccer dad."  That he was and so much more.  

My heart goes out to Bettie, Linda, Andrew and the entire family.  A great guy who will be missed.

        Photo below taken at our house, 1/1/12.

Free Kick: a New Newsletter

 Just discovered a new soccer newsletter and it made a good first impression on me with an article about the English FA Cup.  The newsletter is called Free Kick from We Are Soccer.  The informative FA piece was written by Paul Hearn.  I recommend it. 

With a new year upon us perhaps I can be more active with this blog than in the past.  In 2021 I missed out on, among other things,  the Union making it to the MLS conference finals, Carli Lloyd's final game for the National Team and my granddaughter Allison's high school debut as a JV goalie at West Chester Henderson.  It was not a lack of interest - just a lack of time.

Happy New Year to everyone.